Fruit crate



Sept. 18, 1934. B. K. KONKOL 1,973,873

FRUIT CRATE Filed Feb. 8, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 B. K. KONKOL FRUIT CRATE Sept. 18, 1934.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 8, 1933 Patented Sept. 18, 1934 STATES PATENT oFFir.

FRUIT CRATE Application, February 8,

2 Claims.

This invention relates to berry crates, or crates for containing boxes or trays or receptacles in whichfruit or other commodities are shipped, and more particularly to crates of this kind in which the interior is divided transversely into compartments, one at each end of the crate, and in which each compartment is then subdivided horizontally by a divider arranged substantially midway between the top and bottom of each compart-merit.

Generally stated, the object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved construction whereby the divider or horizontal partition is easily and securely inserted, after the bottom of the compartment is filled or loaded, and whereby dividers of this kind are easily removed without any breakage, when the crate is unpacked. I

It is also an object to provide certain details and features of construction, and combinations, tending to increase the general efficiency and the desirability of a crate divider construction of this particular character.

To the foregoing and other useful ends, the invention consists in the matters hereinafter set forth and claimed, and shown in the accompanying drawings, in which,---

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a crate having a divider construction embodying the principles of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a transverse section on line 22 in Fig. l of the drawings.

Fig. 3 is a perspective of one of the end walls of the crate shown in the drawings.

Fig. 4 is a perspective of the middle partition of the crate, which serves to divide the crate into two compartments.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged longitudinal section of said crate, showing one of the dividers or horizontal partitions being adjusted into place in the crate.

Fig. 6 is a similar view, showing both dividers in position, and showing the crate fully packed with the top cover secured in place.

As thus illustrated, the invention comprises a crate composed of wood veneer side strips 1, veneer bottom strips 2, and a veneer top cover 3, the strips 1 and 2 being nailed or otherwise fastened to the vertical end walls 4, as well as to the middle wall 5 of the crate. The cover 3 may be held in position by any suitable fastening devices.

It will be seen that each end wall 4 is preferably composed of a flat board having a horizontal groove 6 on the inner surface thereof, with flat battens '7 secured to the outer side of the board along the upper and lower edges thereof. In the board 4, the grain of the wood extends 1933, Serial No. 655,717

vertically, while the grain of the wood in the battens '7 extends lengthwise thereof. This forms a very strong head or end wall having the horizontal groove 6 on the inner side thereof.

The middle wall 5 is also preferably a flat board having the grain of the wood extending horizontally thereof, each side of the board being cut or planed off to form the two shoulders 8, one at each side of the board, the upper half of the board being gradually tapered downward to these shoulders, as shown in the drawings.

The dividers preferably consist of veneer strips 9 having the grain of the wood extending lengthwise thereof. These divider strips are adapted to engage the grooves 6 cf'the end walls 4, and are adapted to rest on the shoulders 8 in the manner shown in Figs. 5 and 6 of the drawings. Looking at Fig. 5, it will be seen that it is easy to insert the divider strips, inasmuch as one end can be placed in the groove 6, and that theformation of the middle wall 5 then provides clearance for the other end of the divider strip until it finally rests upon the shoulder Sat one side of the middle wall. In other words, clearance is provided above each shoulder 8 for the downward movement of the end of the divider strip onto said shoulder.

In this way, the loaded boxes or trays 10 can first be placed in the bottom of the crate, four at each side of the middle wall 5, and then the divider strips 9 can be placed in position as shown. Then the upper boxes or trays 11 can be placed upon the divider strips, and'the cover 3 can then be fastened in place. It will be seen that clearance is preferably provided between the tops of the boxes or trays l0 and the under side of the divider strips, and that similar clearance is pref-- erably provided between the tops of the boxes or trays 11 and the under side of the cover 3, whereby the boxes or trays may be filled rather full without having the contents injured by downward pressure of the cover 3 or the divider strips 9 thereon.

When the crate is unpacked, the cover is first taken off, and the upper tier of boxes or trays is then removed. Then the divider strips 9 are raised and taken out of the crate, in an obvious manner, and thereafter the lower tier of boxes or trays is removed, with their contents.

It will be seen, therefore, that a simple and inexpensive construction is provided for enabling the user of the crate to insert divider strips or horizontal partitions between the upper and lower tiers of boxes or trays, practically without increasing the cost of manufacture of the crate, and

in a way that will enable the purchaser of the loaded crate to unpack it without breaking anything, whereby the crate and its divider strips can be used again.

The middle wall 5 is preferably a solid or onepiece board, and is preferably thicker than the walls 4 at the ends of the crate. In this way, the board 5 is of sufficient thickness to permit cutting away of its opposite surfaces to provide the shoulders 8, but without having the board immediately above these shoulders too thin-to insure the requisite strength of the crate. The end walls 4 may each be a solid or one-piece board, but it is also possible, because of the battens 7, to use two or more strips or matched boards for these walls, as they are held together by the battens. Also, each end wall is preferably provided with a vertical ventilating slot 12, as shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings.

It will be seen that the ventilating grooves 12 are advantageous, as this allows air to circulate through the ends of the crate when the crates are packed close together, either in railroad box cars or trucks, and for long distance shipments this is important. Also, with two horizontal bat tens at each end of the crate, at the upper and lower edges of the end walls, the end walls can be made of scrap lumber, pieces arranged vertically edge to edge, instead of using solid boards. These ends and the middle wall are tied together by the side and bottom walls, as in these side and bottom walls the grain of the wood extends lengthwise of the crate, and hence the said battens can be used as hand holds by which to lift the crate, particularly when loaded and closed. Again, the saw grooves 6 are crosswise of the grain of the wood and fit the ends of the dLvider strips 9, and thus insure a very strong construction, as very little wood is taken out to form the grooves,

and the divider strips rest more secure in the grooves 6 than on the shoulders 8, whereby only a minimum of this shoulder formation is necessary in the crate, in order to facilitate the insertion and removal of the divider strips. .Ihus,

. with the construction shown and described, the

crate is stronger than ordinary, and has better ventilation than is ordinarily true of crates of this kind, which are important considerations when berries or other small fruits are marketed at distant points and transported by trucks and the crate before the latter is filled, and after it is opened and unloaded. In other words, the cleats or battens 7 form no part of the means for closing or opening the crate, as they are permanent in the finished crate both before and after the top cover is fastened in place, and after the cover is removed.

Looking at Figs. 5 and 6, it will be seen that the shallow recesses on the opposite sides of the middle wall 5, forming the horizontal shoulders 8, have perfectly straight surfaces that extend convergingly downward from the upper edge of the wall to the said shoulders, so that the up and down surface of each recess is perfectly straight when the middle wall 5 is viewed in section, as shown.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A wooden fruit crate of general rectangular shape having a bottom wall, end walls, side walls, a transverse wall parallel to said end walls and disposed intermediate the latter, and a removable cover, said end walls having the grain thereof extending vertically, and said transverse wall having the grain thereof extending horizontally, each end wall being provided with a narrow horizontally disposed groove in the inner face thereof and each face of the middle wall having a shallow recess increasing in depth in a downward direction and terminating in a horizontally extending shoulder opposite the grooves in the end wall, and divider strips having a length sufiicient to bridge the end walls and the middle wall between the grooves and the recesses in the respective walls, said strips being received in the grooves in the end walls and resting on the shoulders in the middle wall.

2. A wooden fruit crate of general rectangular shape having a bottom wall, end walls, side walls, a transverse wall parallel to said end walls and disposed intermediate the latter, and a removable cover, said end walls having the grain thereof extending vertically, and said transverse wall having the grain thereof extending horizontally, each end wall being provided with a narrow horizontally disposed groove in the inner face thereof and each face of the middle wall having a shallow recess increasing indepth straight downward from the upper edge thereof and terminating at its lower end in a horizontally extending shoulder opposite the grooves in the end wall, divider strips having a length suihcient to bridge the end walls and the middle wall between the grooves and the recesses in the respective walls, said strips being received in the grooves in the end walls and resting on the shoulders in the middle wall, and top and bottom battens extending horizontally across and secured to the end walls exteriorly of the crate.

BENEDICT K. KONKOL. 

